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Some people believe that we can understand consciousness if we can capture brain activity in more detail. Others believe that we can never understand consciousness. The question, of course, is how consciousness is related to the brain. To answer this question, a certain kind of research can be used, namely the research into 'the neural correlates of consciousness' (NCC). In this way aspects of neural functioning can be studied and it can be checked whether these correspond to the conscious experiences that people express. Unfortunately, it is not yet clear what aspect of neural functioning should be investigated for this. It is important to remember that the NCC is about the correlation between neural functioning and conscious experiences. Therefore, no statements can be made on the basis of NCC about cause-effect relationships between the brain and consciousness. A human brain consists of 100 trillion neurons connected to each other by synapses together with glial cells. The brainstem, consisting of the medulla, punch and midbrain, is essential for survival because it performs many important functions (cardiac, respiratory and sexual functions and the maintenance of sleep and waking). Behind the midbrain is the cerebellum that has an important function in motor control. Between the midbrain and the cerebellum is the thalamus that receives sensory input.The cortex is the outer layer of the brain and contains many structures that play a role in consciousness - the hippocampus, the amygdala, the hypothalamus and the cingulate gyrus. The neocortex is the part of the brain that developed last during human evolution. The two hemispheres are related to each other by white matter from the anterior commissure and by the corpus callosum. The definition of an 'unconscious person' is someone who lives but is not responsive...
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The problem of consciousness is related to some of the oldest questions of philosophy: what does the world consist of? Who am I? It relates to the mind-body problem: what is the relationship between the physical and the mental?
Despite the fact that we are learning more and more about the functioning of the brain, consciousness remains a mystery. In the past, they used the term 'élan vital' to explain how non-living things could be made alive. Nowadays this concept is no longer used, since we know that biological processes are responsible for this. Some scientists believe that the same will also happen with the term consciousness. Once we understand how brain processes create a sense of consciousness, then we might not need to use this term anymore.
Consciousness requires some sort of dualism: objectivity vs. subjectivity, inner vs. outer, mind vs. body...
For example: Take a pencil in your hand and look at it. You see the pencil from your own unique perspective, which you cannot share with others. The pencil is part of the outside world, your experience with the pencil is part of your inner world.
The way philosophers view the consciousness problem can generally be divided into monist theories, which suggest that there are one kind of things in the world, and dualist theories, which suggest that there are two kinds of things. Some theories state that the mental world is fundamental and some theories state that the physical world is fundamental.
Monistic theories assume that the world consists of only one kind of matter (body or mind). Some monistic theories state that everything consists of the mind, according to these theories we only have ideas and perceptions of a pencil. We do not know if a pencil really exists. People who assume this are called mentalists or idealists. Berkeley supported this principle. The disadvantage of this perspective is that we can never know for certain whether objects with fixed characteristics exist.
Materialists are also monists. They believe that there is only matter. An example for this is the identity theory, which states that mental experiences are the same as physical experiences. Another example is functionalism, which assumes that mental experiences are the same as functional experiences.
Epiphenomenalism assumes that physical processes cause mental events, but that mental events have no effect on physical events. Huxley was a supporter of this idea. He did not deny that consciousness or subjective experiences existed, but stated that they have no (causal) connection with physical processes. He used
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